The Chronicles of the Mawar
Overview
After the fall of Drankor, the Mawar became a significant coastal and trading power, and Mawar ships could be seen plying coastal trade routes as far south as Chardon and as far north as the far northern shores of beyond the Great Bay.
The Great War and Aftermath
DR 1545 - 1594
Overview
The Mawakel peninsula was always a lightly populated and insular place. Largely cut-off from the rest of the continent by the ~Mawakel Border Mountains~, the Great War was not the full-blown decimation that it was for many other northern settlements. However, even amongst the Mawar, the time of the Great War was one of danger. orcs, hobgoblins, and stranger evils pushed across the mountains, and the occasional flotilla threatened the eastern settlements. Great magics are worked to create the Fog of Mawar enshroud the land in a protective fog. In addition to the weather, for reasons unknown, few dangers ever made it, by sea, from the Endless Ocean to the west side of the peninsula. Rumors abounded of leviathans and other great creatures of the deep hunting for interlopers in the waters of the western shore, and few dared sail more than a few miles from the coast.
This was a time of endless foggy mists, and dangers as fishing boats were lost, and even with the fogs, not every evil was stopped. The interior of the peninsula suffered the most – between the endless grey, and the dangers that did penetrate – and few of the small communities nestled amongst the pine forests emerged from this time intact.
- 1545 DR: The Grand Conclave of Mawakel between the Mawar and the salt lizardfolk meets, and undertakes a great magic to hide the land, and summoned the great fog to protect the peninsula.
- 1590 DR, spring: Rumors of recovery in the south spread, and the conclave meets for the the second time, and agrees to allow the mists to disperse
- 1590 DR, summer: The first trade ships depart Mawar.
The Mawar Renaissance
DR 1594 - 1675
Overview
The four generations following the emergence of the Mawakel peninsula from the hidden mists are now often referred to as the the “golden age of Mawar,” dated by most chroniclers from the first (re)contact with Chardon, in 1594. This was a period of propensity and growth, as the stagnating population boomed, and traditions from before the war saw a resurgence. Much can be said of the exploits of the Mawar during these golden years. This is the height of the “classical” Mawar culture and a lot of “traditionalist” in the modern period would harken back to this time. Ocean watchers and towers are built during this time, and perhaps it is when a lot of the guild halls were built, and so on. Whether it is luck, or Chardon’s actions, or the lingering effects of the mists, very few ‘big bad’ things come into the Mawalek during this period. Perhaps everything is focused southward, trying to beat Chardon. Or perhaps it really is just luck, or perhaps some kind of secret supernatural blessing.
The Mindknife Wars
DR 1675 - 1685
Overview
Something bad is loose in the north, and Mawar bears the brunt of it. This scars a generation and ends the renaissance.
- 1675 DR: The Mindknife War begins in Mawar
- 1685 DR: The Mindknife War ends in Mawar
Retrenchment
DR 1685 - 1745
Overview
Mawar recovers from the bad stuff, but by now, Chardon has spread north, and is a competitor for trade, resources, trading partners. Trade routes move inland, bypassing Mawar. Other northerns align with (or against) Chardon, and Mawar is much more on the sidelines of history. Some people prefer this, but others long for the olden days when it seemed like Mawar was the center of the northlands. This period also sees increasing unrest in the north, and Mawar is forced to defend itself a lot more than during the renaissance. Between Chardon encroaching to the south and various dangers, it leads to a culture that feels more beset by foreign problems.